Working on significant homes, be they heritage or contemporary, is a challenge for most architects – keen to capture the design’s original ‘DNA’ while still addressing a client’s brief. This was certainly the case with what’s now daubed ‘The Cliff House’, originally designed by the eminent Sydney-based architect, Jorge Hrdina. Completed in 2005 and perched on a cliff overlooking the South Pacific Ocean, its hallmarks included a ‘floating’ raked ceiling, generous eaves for sun protection and off formed concrete walls, both inside and out. Although the house responded to the views, it didn’t fully embrace the site or capitalise on the outdoors, particularly the decks, given there’s a four-metre fall across the site. Reworked for a couple and their son, who purchased the house a few years years ago, the brief to Damien Furey when at Fabric Architecture Studio was to extend the footprint but not compromise Hrdina’s design. From the street, as well as from the home’s rear elevation, there’s a synergy between the past and present – including the use of concrete blade walls for the new wing. And between the two is a new double-height entrance lobby that firmly ties the two together. Using some of Hrdina’s detailing, such as expressed timber set within a steel structure, the architects also created a secondary raked roof with celestial windows over what’s now a large study. To provide an even lighter touch, an oversized skylight in the first-floor study/home office achieves an even more ethereal space. The team also created new spaces and reworked existing areas, such as an outdoor deck – framed by an in situ concrete wall complete with a planter box. These changes, which offer greater fluidity and transparency, can be seen in the connection between the living areas, the protected terrace and the main bedroom. The brief also included refurbishing the entire home, with a new kitchen and living areas along with bathrooms in the mix. Every surface has been touched, whether the kitchen’s island bench or the new oak veneer joinery throughout. The new staircase and frameless glass balustrades (edged in brass) also took their cues from the 2005 design while moving forward at the same time. But this time around, there are solid stone treads that create a sense of monumentality – a balance to the ‘fragility’ of the glass balustrades. Other functions incorporated into the new floor plan include a gymnasium, an additional living space, together with a new guest bedroom for the extended family and friends – given Terrigal is a one-and-a-half-hour drive north of Sydney. However, while new rooms were added, some have been enhanced – with one bedroom now benefiting from a more articulated view of the ocean through a large picture window framed by concrete blades. Known as the ‘Cliff House’ but referred to by the owners as ‘The Haven’, it’s a home that has both stood the test of time and the opportunity to bring the family pleasure for many years to come. And when viewed in the round, it is a masterful fusion of the past with a strong nod to the future.

Text: Stephen Crafti

Architecture & Interiors: Original house pre renovation Jorge Hrdina. Damien Furey & Xanthe Highfield when co director at Fabric Architecture

Builder: Mennie Builders

Structural: Northrop

Landscape: Mark Hill

Photography: Luke Shadbolt